Highlands Christian Drops Thriller To Jupiter Christian

Every year, a few games emerge as game of the year candidates. Newfound rivals Jupiter Christian and Highlands Christian played one of those games Monday, with the Eagles emerging with a 20-17 win.

“That was just a great game, with a lot of offense late,” said Eagles Manager Kennie Silvestri. “When they took the lead, our guys could have folded, but I am really proud of how they kept battling after we gave up that big inning and lost the lead.”

The two teams played three times in 2025, with the Eagles winning those games by a combined 31-1 score, including two regional quarterfinals wins.

Monday, however, gave the Knights a chance to showcase how far they have come in a year.

Early on, it looked like Jupiter Christian was going to pick up where they left off last season, scoring seven runs in the first two innings.

They tacked on an eighth run in the fourth, and with the game headed towards another Eagles ten-run win, the theme of the night suddenly changed.

Highlands, led by RBI singles from Bryce Hughes & TJ Claxton, followed by a three-run home run off the bat of Bryce Goldstein, cut the lead to 8-5.

Still, the Eagles remained in control, adding an insurance run in the top of the sixth, to extend the lead back oit to 9-5.

What happened next, was an explosion of runs, peaks and valleys for both teams. Highlands put up nine runs in the bottom of the sixth.

An RBI single by Chase Fargas, followed by a two-RBI double from Evan Baker, cut the lead to 9-8. After an error tied the game, consecutive RBI hits by Claxton, Goldstein, Steven Perals, and Gustavo Alvira, gave the Knights a 14-9 lead.

That would be enough to deflate most teams, but the Eagles had an answer of their own in the top of the seventh, sending 15 batters to the plate, and scoring 11 runs.

JD Whitaker came off the bench with an RBI double, while Matt Kutsukos, Steven Eusey, James Rheinecker, and Harrison Craft all delivered RBI hits during the 11-run barrage.

“Incredible offensive effort there in that seventh inning,” said Silvestri. “We got some big performances and big hits in that 7th inning, and our freshman catcher Cam Chesney did a great job catching the whole game behind the plate. Great team win.”

Highlands was able to muster one final run in their half of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, as the Eagles held on for the 20-17 win, in a game that took over four hours to play.

The loss was the first of the season for the Knights, who were impressive in the opening week, going 2-0, and winning by a combined 32-2 score.

As for the Eagles, the win moves them to 2-1, as they look to improve on their 15-10 season from a year ago.

“It was a good overall game tonight, but obviously we have to work on our pitching moving forward if we are going to get where we want to go as a team,” said Silvestri.

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